Versatile Blogger Award

This is how I felt when I first started this blog back in December, after I went to a writers’ conference and was told that writers have blogs.

“You need to have a blog. Why don’t you have a blog?”

Ug….. so I started writing posts, not really expecting anyone to read them, except for maybe some friends and family. I had no idea anyone else would. Wow, was I wrong. All the really cool people on wordpress have blown me away.

I’ve recently been nominated for the versatile blogger award by fellow blogger, Wrestling Life http://wrestling-life.com. Woohoo! And thank you!

If you’re on the list of nominated blogs below, then this is what you do next:

1) Add The Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post
2) Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post
3) Share seven things about yourself
4) Pass the award along to 15 bloggers you’ve recently discovered. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

7 things about myself:

I am a martial artist. I’m currently studying for my brown belt in karate.

I play the guitar and the bodhrán (a Celtic folk drum).

Every afternoon I eat dark chocolate with a cup of Earl Grey (with cream and honey).

I drink Earl Grey because I have a crush on Patrick Stewart.

My favorite group is U2. My favorite song is With or Without You.

I’m afraid of failure.

I believe we are all blessed with gifts, and those gifts are meant to be shared, despite our fears.

First of all… a HUGE thank you for even thinking about me and considering me for this award! I am honored and humbled.

Secondly, I’m blown away that you were afraid to have a blog and hadn’t thought about it until December? You are such a natural and actually, I think the appearance of your blog is SO cool and interesting… it’s just different and it draws me in and makes me want to read. I’m POSITIVE your writing will be the same for your books. I think you need to shamelessly plug your writings more to remind us what we’re missing! lol

Thirdly, thank you for sharing the 7 things about yourself. I loved the dark chocolate and tea routine that you have every day 🙂 I don’t know why but I’m not surprised that you do this. It just seems like you 🙂

It amazes me when I hear these negative stories told to such talented people such as yourself. I would have probably given up if I’d heard even ONE negative review. SO proud that you had the drive to keep going. It makes me wonder how many really good books have gotten rejected so that we will never get to for our OWN opinions about what we want to read. Hope that made sense? I’m glad it’s beginning to be so easy to self publish so that the public will have the chance to read what we CHOOSE to read. However, for you, I hope you get signed and published HUGELY 🙂 I think you can do it 😉

Thanks so much. I’m not sure I will EVER be signed. I think outside the box. You see, I am a Christian who believes 90% of the books put out there for Christian women to read are fake. Silly, feel-good stuff, that is far removed from real life. Then we are tisk-tisked for reading, well, anything, for fear it will make us frown at our husbands. Thing is… people have needs. When you leave those needs out of literature, the literature becomes useless. It no longer reflects the human condition. So… women read about these men who have no sex drive, then wonder why their husbands do… then these women become unhappy with their husbands and tell them to GET OVER IT. Um… he’s not going to get over it. It is what he is. Enjoy the attention he wants to give you, already!

I’m not saying I write erotica. I don’t. But I’m not afraid to have some honest passion in my books either. It’s hard to market a book like that on the traditional market. I toned down any religious connotations, so that my character’s faith steams naturally out of their upbringing (for my historical novels this is easy) For my werewolf novels, it just comes across as my werewolves having a moral code.

I’ve been informed by agents that if I would just write them a nice formula novel, they might be willing to take a chance on me. Since I do show ‘some little’ promise….

Wow. I think I might have a whole blog post here! Thanks so much for your encouragement!

I’m GLAD you wrote so much! I didn’t realize you were a Christian writer and I could NOT agree more about the Christian books that are out there and the attitudes. My MIL reads only Christian fiction and I’ve TRIED to read them but they’re so juvenile and unrealistic. I wonder (when I read them) “WHO in the world lives like this?”! I guess I felt like I was the one who wasn’t normal because I didn’t live like that and I’m a Christian. You’re absolutely right about even Christian women having needs. lol My SIL would be a good fan for you, I think. She’s a Christian and she’s normal. lol There’s someone else I follow on WP who is a very public christian and she writes about sex in DETAIL. I’m always cracking up because it borders (for some christian’s) on X rated. But she writes about her married life and sex within the confines of marriage. She also writes about her husband being unfaithful and gives good advice about dealing with THAT kind of pain. You may already follow her (Sis ?). If you don’t, let me know and I’ll link you to her because I KNOW you’ll love her!

Now I’ll stop MY blog back to you. lol I just want to say that you COULD be opening up a whole new genre and I hope SOME publisher can recognize this. I just can’t understand why some industries are so slow to accept change?

I’m so glad you understand. Publishers are afraid of these kind of books, because they have had books pulled off the shelves at Christian book stores. Who is the writer you know on WP? I would like to follow her blog.